10 iconic images from Lionel Messi's career
There are no more words to describe the genius of Lionel Messi. The Argentine talisman’s magic on the pitch has exhausted every word in the dictionary. Superlatives no longer do justice to the man who has defined this era in football.
Memorable goals have been scored across Europe and the world. Records have tumbled since his arrival. An entire generation of fans is indebted to him for making football what it is today.
As Messi celebrates his birthday on 24 June, we decided to go down memory lane and look back at the most iconic moments that shaped his career. There are so many, but 10 is a fitting tribute to his shirt number for both Barcelona and Argentina.
1) International glory with Argentina
Messi celebrated his 18th birthday in 2005 with the Argentina national team as they travelled to the Netherlands to take part in the FIFA World Youth Championship (or the U-20 World Cup). Having beaten the likes of Germany, Colombia, Spain and Brazil in previous rounds, Argentina met Nigeria in the final in Utrecht.
It was Messi’s penalties that gave Argentina a 2-1 win in the final. The second was a 75th-minute winner that sealed the title for La Albiceleste where Messi won the Golden Boot (6 goals) and Best Player award.
The triumph remains his only international title apart from the Olympic Gold. Unfortunately, Messi and Argentina lost three consecutive finals from 2014 to 2016 (a World Cup final to Germany and two Copa America finals to Chile).